4liters wrote:What do barra need in order to breed? Is there any chance of a breeding population establishing in the pondage?

This is in relation to the sex of barramundi but answers your question fairly well"This can be due to stunted growth because of insufficient food, or it may be that a barra has been infresh water for an extended period and has remained male. This is the case with freshwaterimpoundments such as Manton Dam here in the NT and Tinaroo Dam in Queensland, which arestocked with barramundi. Barra that weigh over 20 kg and are over 100 cm long, which are regularlycaught at Tinaroo, are all males. Restocking therefore, is the only way to replenish barramundipopulations in freshwater impoundments. Barra probably have to be sexually active as a male beforechanging to a female and can only do this in salt water."

Barra very much take on the taste of the water where they reside - When I was working in Darwin if we caught a bright silvery Barra fresh from the salt water we knew we had a good feed - a Barra that had spent the dry season in a lagoon was something else and often tasted muddy. The Hazelwood Barra should still be great fun to catch though.

I wonder if the Cichlids in Hazelwood are herbavores or if they'll eat the small Barra as some species in the Cichlidae family will eat other fish ?The Tilapia from what I understand although a type of Cichlid eat plant matter and in some countries are actually introduced into streams, water canals etc to stop plant and algae build up.Does anyone know what type Cichlids they are?I presume fisheries must know.

Barra can't breed in freshwater - the sperm dies almost immediately. They need fairly high salinities and usually spawn near river mouths and even offshore. There is absolutely no chance of reproduction in Hazlewood which was one of the conditions required for permission to stock them. Even if they get out 16 degrees makes them pretty crook and at 12 they are dead, so no chance of establishing barra in the Gippsland lakes.

Their sex lives are pretty complicated. In many populations all fish start off as males and then change into females at about six years of age. In others, such as some near Weipa, the sexes are separate at birth.

As others have said, out of freshwater they are not the best to eat and might be suss out of Hazlewood. In my experience they don't put up quite the tussle out of an impoundment that the river fish do - but are still fun. I spent near twenty years up near Cairns and caught my fair share. If you want to try for them in Hazlewood in my experience the faster minnow lures like Nilsmasters probably work better than the slower cod type lures such as stumpjumpers.

It might be an interesting new fishery giving Victorian anglers the opportunity to more easily catch an angling icon. But there are a couple species down here that I would rate just as highly - Australian bass and trout cod.

Hazlewood has 'Tilapia' which includes several species/hybrids of cichlids such as red devils, convicts, black mangroves, etc.

Barra can't breed in freshwater - the sperm dies almost immediately. They need fairly high salinities and usually spawn near river mouths and even offshore. There is absolutely no chance of reproduction in Hazlewood which was one of the conditions required for permission to stock them. Even if they get out 16 degrees makes them pretty crook and at 12 they are dead, so no chance of establishing barra in the Gippsland lakes.

Their sex lives are pretty complicated. In many populations all fish start off as males and then change into females at about six years of age. In others, such as some near Weipa, the sexes are separate at birth.

As others have said, out of freshwater they are not the best to eat and might be suss out of Hazlewood. In my experience they don't put up quite the tussle out of an impoundment that the river fish do - but are still fun. I spent near twenty years up near Cairns and caught my fair share. If you want to try for them in Hazlewood in my experience the faster minnow lures like Nilsmasters probably work better than the slower cod type lures such as stumpjumpers.

It might be an interesting new fishery giving Victorian anglers the opportunity to more easily catch an angling icon. But there are a couple species down here that I would rate just as highly - Australian bass and trout cod.

Hazlewood has 'Tilapia' which includes several species/hybrids of cichlids such as red devils, convicts, black mangroves, etc.

Best Wishes

Truedogz

Great imfo there truedoqz

The freshwater fight like slugs imo compared to a salty

There a way lazier barra..

im tipping that 5 percent of fisherman will catch 95 percent of the barra from hazlewood....pretty similiar to trout at eldion or cod on the murray.

ive allready pm nude up and bought his secret hazlewood barra spot off him for the normal half a dozen light ice tooheys so hopefully im good for one.

There not a stupid fish like a snapper or whiting so dont be expecring to troll around aimlessly and land a barra

A few years back myself and a mate were fishing up at Lakefield (Cape York) trolling up and down the Normanby River and nobody was catching much. Everybody thought it was fished out. Sick of catching nothing the two of us as a joke put on surface poppers and trolled them across the top .... barra emerged from everywhere!!!!

For those that have not caught a barra, one thing that is amazing is the underwater "boof" sound they make when they hit a lure - quite distinctive, as well as their red eyes at night.

Another tip, even in freshwater impoundments they are influenced by the moon/tides. In places like Tinaroo peak activity coincides with a full moon. This also relates to their reproduction which occurs around full moon in the warmer months.

And a good thing about Hazlewood ..... No crocs!!!

Thinking about Lakefield, there are great campsites on the river but you have to book a long way ahead - and it is the same in most other places that haven't been shut up. Bush camping as we enjoy along the Murray or up in the high country down here is nearly a memory in North Queensland. This was a key factor in me deciding to return to Victoria to retire - plus the freshwater fishing down here is really excellent - the cod fishing in particular is the best its been in my lifetime. Queensland is a big place but it is often a long way to permanent freshwater rivers!

Our camping is superb and we do have some great sportfish that compare favourably with those up north.

I'd suggest to everyone, particularly young people, to go bush and enjoy the freedom to camp we still have - don't assume it will go on forever.

4liters wrote:I wouldn't be eating them unless some very thorough testing was done on them first.

The reason the water is warm is because it is used in the power station, it has probably picked up all sorts of metals and whatnot from the pipes. Plus there's the soot/smoke from the power station which is some seriously nasty sh*t. From wikipedia:

Coal and coal waste products (including fly ash, bottom ash and boiler slag) release approximately 20 toxic-release chemicals, including arsenic, lead, mercury, nickel, vanadium, beryllium, cadmium, barium, chromium, copper, molybdenum, zinc, selenium and radium, which are dangerous if released into the environment. While these substances are trace impurities, enough coal is burned that significant amounts of these substances are released